By Emily Matzelle

Once upon a time (before the internet) if you needed to get something done you would pick up the telephone. You might have to open up the phone book to find the number you needed, and you would make a call and talk to a live person. Of course, when the internet rose to fame, everything changed. Fast forward a bit more in time and everybody now holds the internet in the palm of their hand—in the form of their smartphone.

Today we need a very different set of skills to do everyday things. These skills used to be considered tech skills, but today, they are simply life skills—or digital literacy. While most of us can claim to be digitally literate, how many of us can take it to the next level and own digital fluency? Can your middle school students?

Related Content: From Digital Literacy to Digital Fluency: A Path to Success

The following daily interactions are difficult to manage today without strong digital literacy and digital fluency skills, taught, in part, by the middle school teachers of today. Let’s take a look at some scenarios.

You’re hearing some great feedback about a new restaurant in your area, but you can’t remember the name. What do you do?

You Google it. You might look at Google Maps or pull up your local news coverage to find the name. Understanding how to effectively use a search engine is a prime example of digital literacy. Being creative in your search terms shows digital fluency. Finding exactly what you’re looking for in the vast sea of the internet can be tricky. But digitally fluent people know how to cut through the noise to find what they want—be it a specific restaurant, a pair of shoes they saw at school or distinct research needed for a paper.

You had to return a piece of clothing that didn’t fit, but you see (on your banking app!) that you still haven’t received a refund. What do you do?

You connect with customer service. Most of us don’t find listening to “on-hold” music on the phone very appealing. If you’re digitally literate, you can take your case to a chat bot. Of course, chatting with a bot isn’t quite the same as chatting with a human. Being digitally fluent means you know exactly what information to provide via chat to get the answer you need. Recognizing the different types and tones of communication that are appropriate in different situations requires digital fluency.

You find out that your friends and family are being tagged in an advertisement on your social media profile that you didn’t share. What do you do?

First and foremost, you change your password. Being digitally literate means that you know how to change your password and other account settings to protect yourself. But then you post a message on your profile notifying your friend list that you’ve been hacked. This example of digital fluency shows that you understand that you’re not the only person affected. You’re responsibly managing your profile.

You get a message from a friend with a free code to upgrade your social media account to the paid version. What do you do?

You don’t take the bait. Instead, you reach out to your friend to see if he/she actually sent the code to you. There are a lot of people that don’t play nice in the digital world, and many of them prey on those who aren’t digitally fluent. Understanding the difference between credible content and a scam is more important than ever. And, when you confirm it is a scam, you report that account so the con cannot continue.

Speaking of playing nice, what do you do if you receive a negative (or worse) comment on something you’ve posted to your social media account?

Well, you have a few options. You could comment back, you could block the user or you could ignore the comment. There isn’t one correct answer. It’s really a personal preference how you respond to negativity on social media. However, being a good digital citizen is associated with digital fluency. Good digital citizenship means interacting online with respect, authenticity, positivity and intelligence—something that many of us need to be reminded about.

Your school is experiencing a remote learning day and you have to teach your students via Google Classroom on camera. What do you do?

You plan your lessons accordingly. You choose activities that will engage the group or allow them time to work on their own while pinging you with questions. You show digital fluency by creating a set of agile plans that can work in-person or remote. You also model how your students should engage on camera. While you may be required to be on camera, not all students have to show their faces. But showing those who do turn their camera  how to be respectful via non-verbal cues and how to collaborate with you and their peers in this setting is valuable. After all, with so much of the workforce working from home these days, it’s likely that some of your students will find themselves on camera for their job one day.

Achieving digital literacy is step one. These are essential life skills that we all need to survive in today’s increasingly digital world. Claiming digital fluency is the next level. It’s all about understanding how technology works, how to make it work for you and how to use it to effectively relate to others with respect. Where do think your students fall? Are they digitally literate or digitally fluent? Discover how you can use the CompTIA Spark curriculum to help your middle school students develop these skills and empower them to thrive in an increasingly digital world of today—and the future.

Sources:

Digital Learning Collaborative: What is Digital Fluency?

Education Week: 8 Tech Skills Every Student Should Have, According to Educators

iCEV: What Are 21^st Century Skills?

Social Integrity: University of Michigan: Are You a Good Digital Citizen?

The Bark Blog: 5 Tech Skills That Are Now Life Skills

Photos: iStock